Random Thoughts

[Broncofan]

3 hours ago, AnAngryAmerican said:

I wonder if Herbert regrets signing his extension with the Chargers. That organization has been a mess for as long as I can remember. Guys like Tomlinson and Rivers spent their entire careers there and never even got to an AFCCG. Eli (and Archie) was smart to make the Chargers trade him. 

A guy of Herbert's talents could have hit the open market, got paid whatever he demanded and chose his destination. He could have opted for really any but, what, 5 or 6 (KC, Cincy, Jacksonville, Buffalo, Houston, Philly) teams who already have young franchise QBs? 

The reality is that a team can hang on to a QB for 3+ years from where Herbert was when they offered the extension - let the final year play of the rookie deal play out, pay the franchise tag for year 2, and then the 2nd tag at 20% of year 2's salary for year 3.   And only then are they probably screwed (as the 3rd tag comes with a 44 percent increase).     Teams hold all the cards when it comes to these situations.    As long as you don't have a totally adversarial relationship with the FO, that's a huge reason why extensions happen.    You're realistically only looking at walking 3 years down the line, so why not get paid upfront with guaranteed money and give up "only" 2-3 years more of control - you're stuck there for 3 years, so get paid with guaranteed $ for 5-6.   

But yes, this shows just how good Herbert is.   Ppl who were saying he's not elite are simply delusional, or have a lot of copium that they don't have a guy like him.    The Chargers probably will need 2 full offseasons to get back to reasonable chances of contending - but it also gets there a lot quicker when you have a talent like his.   Seeing how much he's covering up in LAC shows just what it means when you find the elite guy.    

Staley was awful as a HC - his initial naked-aggression / metrics lean was fine, but he also didn't follow through on it when it mattered once he got blowback from when it didn't work out - and worst of all, dude had ZERO idea on how to develop a D.    That's definitely the risk of the hot-name hire - Staley was a great speaker & communicator, and embracing new ideas is a strong start - but the guy had no actual D building skills.     

But as bad as Staley was - GM Telesco was equally or even more to blame.    He spent huge $ on guys that weren't frankly elite (Bosa hurt too much, Derwin James too dumb and injury-prone, and LOL at Kenneth Murray).  He literally ignored the run D and DL - and then failed in his drafts for DB talent (although you wonder how badly coached the kids are with Staley).    Worst run D, bottom 5 pass D, and then he blew the obvious WR pick (anyone but Quentin Johnston R1 and they win with that pick).   

I can't stand the Spanos family - they represent everything that's wrong with modern-day ownership.   But no Charger fans, or Herbert, deserved the last 10 years they went through.   At least Herbert is still young, so by 2025-6 they'll be back on their feet with an elite gunslinger at the helm.   

Edited December 15, 2023 by Broncofan

[thebestever6]

Gibson vs rams, Montgomery vs Denver, and Chandler versus Cinci? Asking for a friend ?

[broncosfan_101]

You’ve all forgotten, but I had Tee Higgins as a favourite of mine going into the draft. The body control and catch skills were elite. 

[broncosfan_101]

Nathaniel Hackett has been in charge of an NFL offence for 93 games over his career. They have averaged 18.3 points per game. 

[bMiller031]

Today is breaking poorly for us… HOU, CLE, BUF all w/ Ws

[AKRNA]

1 hour ago, bMiller031 said:

Today is breaking poorly for us… HOU, CLE, BUF all w/ Ws

That depends on how you look at it. Yesterday was a pretty good indicator that we've got a ways to go to seriously compete, talent wise, against good teams.

It's be nice to get in the playoffs just for the experience but not making it is a cloud with a silver lining. Better draft spot.

[Broncofan]

5 hours ago, bMiller031 said:

Today is breaking poorly for us… HOU, CLE, BUF all w/ Ws

Lose the battle, win the war.  The worst thing we could have happen as an org is think that the roster as it's presently constructed could win games in January (not Week 17-18 obv).   

The DL, ILB's and TE's all need upgrades....and of course, we need to move on from Russ (the key part being his 2025 37M salary guarantees if he's on our roster the 3rd day of the 2024 new football year - in early - mid March).   The sooner we embrace this, the better off we are as an org.   

[thebestever6]

F Drew Lock can't be our Franchise QB but can beat the freaking eagles on Monday night football go figure.

[AKRNA]

Here's a thought. Maybe we could trade Wilson for Lock, straight up.

[Broncofan]

3 hours ago, thebestever6 said:

F Drew Lock can't be our Franchise QB but can beat the freaking eagles on Monday night football go figure.

 

3 hours ago, AKRNA said:

Here's a thought. Maybe we could trade Wilson for Lock, straight up.

Great moment for him - but he’s still the same guy.  Warts and all.   PHI is a bottom 5 pass D this year.   Kenneth Walker is the only reason the O functioned until that last drive.     Lock had a great last drive but he made bad throws and wrong reads for pretty much all game.    He’ll make the odd throw that makes ppl go wow - and then 4-5 bad reads or throws that kill drives.   
 

The crazy part was Jalen Hurts was brutal tonight.   PHI fans have been mentioning he’s missing reads and throws this year.  It certainly came up 4x that killed drives - a simple crosser to Devonta Smith that would have been 30+ yards but instead threw a 50-50 incomplete on 3rd down to kill 1 drive, then the 1st INT on 1st down throwing another deep 50-50 ball  to Quez Watkins that gets picked.   Then leaves the pocket early to his right at the 2 min warning when all his receivers went left.  And pressure wasn’t there.    Game-ending play right there.    And then the last drive with 3 TO’s could have taken middle - field easy throws 3x but instead throws boundary balls SEA is waiting for.  
 

Any single different decision in the last 3 decisions wins the game (or ties it on last one) for PHI.      So crazy.    That Sea W was identical to our BUF win - going 2+ TO and Hurts brain cramping 2x more.   Any given Sunday (or Monday) but that was the one time out of 10 that SEA wins.   If I was a PHI fan I’d be gutted knowing they likely gave away the 1 seed to SF now.    

Edited December 19, 2023 by Broncofan

[Broncofan]

Having said the above it’s not hard to feel good for him.   Genuine interview.   If you could just give him read ability, footwork and 10 percent more accuracy he’d start somewhere.   Alas, they’re some of the toughest skills beyond physical tools to develop.  But he’ll always have this…

 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2023 by Broncofan

[broncos67]

Lock isn't good. Yes, they won yesterday. Doesn't make him a good QB. Good backup, sure. Multiple teams, coaches and front offices have all come to the same conclusion. 

Broncos fans need to move on. We have the same record as Seattle and Lock started one game. 

Edited December 19, 2023 by broncos67

[broncos_fan _from _uk]

5 of the 9 (10?) QBs to start for the broncos since Manning retired started in the NFL yesterday. All but Russ and the one unlucky enough to play for the Jets won.

what’s this mean? The broncos are the GOAT at picking backup NFL QBs

[broncos_fan _from _uk]

18 minutes ago, broncos67 said:

Lock isn't good. Yes, they won yesterday. Doesn't make him a good QB. Good backup, sure. Multiple teams, coaches and front offices have all come to the same conclusion. 

Broncos fans need to move on. We have the same record as Seattle and Lock started one game. 

Perhaps, but Russ isn’t good anymore either. I’d rather have what we gave Seattle than Russ. 

[Broncofan]

27 minutes ago, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

Perhaps, but Russ isn’t good anymore either. I’d rather have what we gave Seattle than Russ. 

Fair, but that doesn't mean we should even think twice on Drew Lock.   Lock or even Fant weren't big losses on our side.  It was the commitment to Russ, and the picks given up that hurt.     

PHI has a bottom 5 pass D, only JAX & LAC gave up more yards passing heading into WK14 (and by DVOA, even with gamescript/etc., bottom 10 by DVOA), missing their best CB in Slay.   The pass rush wasn't there (and hasn't been this year with PHI).  And Lock threw for 118 yards for 58 minutes, and killed 5 drives with bad decisions or inaccurate throws.   He made 3 great throws in a row on the last drive of the game - but also when PHI was playing prevent D.   It's the classic Drew Lock experience.   2-3 highlight plays that are good, and about 7-8 that kill drives.